Between now and the closing film of the Toronto International Film Festival on September 16th, Killer Reviews will be highlighting some of the films that will have screenings at the prestigious event and giving you some insight into some of the more lesser known movies that being showcased in Canada.

Today, we take a look at Neil Jordan’s Byzantium

Acclaimed director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Michael Collins) is returning to the vampire genre that catapulted his name to stardom when he directed Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in Interview With the Vampire in 1994) with Byzantium which is having its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11th. 

Almost two decades since Interview With the Vampire, Jordan douses himself in fake fangs and blood again in a story about two female vampires who wreck havoc on an English seaside community. 

From the TIFF Official Program Guide:

“Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan) is a precocious girl with a bent for storytelling. A natural introvert, her idea of a good time is to put pen to paper and reflect on her inner life. Her "sister" Clara (Gemma Arterton) is the complete opposite: extroverted and sexual, she struts around in stilettos and skin-tight garb, attracting hungry male gazes wherever she goes. Both carry secrets from deep in their shared past — all 200 years of it — which bubbles to the surface as Jordan wends his way through the twists and turns of the plot. It turns out that Clara was involved in a passionate love affair during the Napoleonic Wars, while at the same time Eleanor was abandoned as a child. In the present, both seek to preserve their secret from their unsuspecting new companions. Eleanor falls for a sweet young waiter (Caleb Landry Jones), while Clara settles on a homey, unsuspecting man (Daniel Mays) who has just come into an inheritance: the Byzantium Hotel, which has seen better days. The fun begins as Eleanor and Clara shack up in the hotel, feeding off their victims while attempting to stay one step ahead of their pursuers, who are hot on the duo's trail after Clara rather violently disposes of a particularly seedy pickup.”

Said to be full of stunning effects and plenty of gore, Byzantium is playing outside of the Midnight Madness Program at TIFF, but is still undoubtedly horror.